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Maximum number of faces on single prim?


Domitan Redenblack
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Looks like 7 faces on a prim? Can't quite figure out if 6 of those can be facing same direction or not. Text is so crap for this kind of stuff; the wiki could use some pics :matte-motes-big-grin-wink:

This is to pre-rezz an alphanumeric font:

a-z, A-Z, 0-9, punctuation (say 8 chars) = total 70 faces needed showing to audience at all times.

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It all depends on how you stretch and cut the prim.  A cube has 7 faces, of which one is the inside face.  So you can show up to 5 faces total.  Try it.  Make a cube, taper it in X and Y, and slice the top off the resulting pyramid. Then flatten it on Z.  You'll have four trapezoidal faces surrounding one square.  The inside face (#6) and the bottom (#5) won't be seen.

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Rolig Loon wrote: It all depends on how you stretch and cut the prim.  A cube has 7 faces, of which one is the inside face.  So you can show up to 5 faces total.  Try it.  Make a cube, taper it in X and Y, and slice the top off the resulting pyramid. Then flatten it on Z.  You'll have four trapezoidal faces surrounding one square.  The inside face (#6) and the bottom (#5) won't be seen.

Thanks, Rolig. I have done this one... Can anyone do better?

Shapes of the visible faces don't matter.

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Actually a cube can have 9 faces if its hollowed and path cut, and three of those, if your path cut the cube in half and flatten it will face the same direction.  HOWEVER, for what you are trying to do, you will need to texture the faces differently in regards to horizontal repeats and offsets.  For example the face created by the hollow goes all around the inside of the cube.  So you'd have to set mutiple horizontal repeats depending on the texture your using and dimensions of the face and adjust the horizontal offset too so that the character is centered properly.  You will just have to experiment with it and your texture.

EDIT: After I replied to this I made a cube with the numbers 1 2 3 showing on the three faces that is textured property.  I sent it to you in world so you can understand my answer better.

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If it is to preload textures, the faces really don't need to face anywhere. They can even be fully transparent. All that matters is that the objects and their textures to preload are some place within the draw distance of the audience.

For that cubes are the shape with the highest number of faces. 6 for a default cube plus 2 when you cut it (a little only), plus 1 for the hollow = 9.

As for showing the most faces in one direction, use a cut prism. If the textures have no alpha channel, you can go up to 5, otherwise 4.

But all this doesn't change the fact that a text display that requires 70+ textures to be preloaded is --pardon my bluntness-- pure crap. Instead of that, a single texture with all the needed symbols on a grid is a much better idea. This way, the script only needs to play with offset and repeat to display one symbol on a face. (Don't forget to include the blank space in the grid.)

Besides, when the single texture is rezzed, the whole board becomes readable at once and it's much easier to hide this single texture on some existing building.

 

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Kaluura Boa wrote:

 [...] a single texture with all the needed symbols on a grid is a much better idea. This way, the script only needs to play with offset and repeat to display one symbol on a face. (Don't forget to include the blank space in the grid.)

Besides, when the single texture is rezzed, the whole board becomes readable at once and it's much easier to hide this single texture on some existing building.

^ that... in fact, if you are doing that you don't even need a hidden face prim, because you can just use blank on the whole board if you want to hide it.

 

officially the highest number of unique faces a cut prim may have (regardless of shape or facing) is 9. Meshes may have only 8 but they can be in any orientation that the mesh creator specifies.

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Domitan Redenblack wrote:

What is the Maximum number of faces on single prim?

Answer:

  • BOX, 9
  • CYLINDER, 6
  • PRISM, 8
  • SPHERE, 6
  • TORUS, 5
  • TUBE, 9
  • RING, 8
  • SCULPT, 1

From a scripting point of view Mesh is not very interesting

Mesh has not yet been promoted to a real prim with a PRIMTYPE

Mesh can not be dealt with by the llGetPrimitiveParams/llSetPrimitiveParams family of functions

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Kaluura Boa wrote:

If it is to preload textures, the faces really don't need to face anywhere. They can even be fully transparent. All that matters is that the objects and their textures to preload are some place within the draw distance of the audience.

For that cubes are the shape with the highest number of faces. 6 for a default cube plus 2 when you cut it (a little only), plus 1 for the hollow = 9.

As for showing the most faces in one direction, use a cut prism. If the textures have no alpha channel, you can go up to 5, otherwise 4.

But all this doesn't change the fact that a text display that requires 70+ textures to be preloaded is --pardon my bluntness-- pure crap. Instead of that, a single texture with all the needed symbols on a grid is a much better idea. This way, the script only needs to play with offset and repeat to display one symbol on a face. (Don't forget to include the blank space in the grid.)

Besides, when the single texture is rezzed, the whole board becomes readable at once and it's much easier to hide this single texture on some existing building.

 

Yes, my original question was for pre-rezzing only, so that info boards do not have text that flickers in and out of rezz so very obnoxiously...

 

Kaluura and others:   Do you find that some textures do not rezz if "the prim is too small or too far away" but within draw distance? I do.

However, this approach offers two great advantages:

1. The whole font can be rendered pretty well into a 1024^2 texture

2. If sufficient gaps are left between characters of the font, then "font display sizes"  and kerning can be implemented as well.

 

Will all of these issues go away when we can display web pages on a prim *(to all users and viewers authorized by LL) ?

 

 

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Domitan Redenblack wrote:

Will all of these issues go away when we can display web pages on a prim *(to all users and viewers authorized by LL) ? 


No, because  MoaP is such a privacy horrorshow that it eventually gets turned off by everybody anyway, either altogether or through destination-specific filters (in some TPVs, but maybe not effectively for MoaP).

Incidentally, for the "face the same way" maximum, you can have 8 sides (materials) in a Mesh, whatever shape you want them.  (I think I commented on that here recently, so I won't repeat my usual bitching about scripts and Prim Equivalence.)

Also, for the five opaque rectangular sides facing the same way: a prism is one solution, but a cube works just as well (and leaves two faces pointed backwards).  How to do that is left as a puzzle for the desperately bored.

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Qie Niangao wrote:


Domitan Redenblack wrote:

Will all of these issues go away when we can display web pages on a prim *(to all users and viewers authorized by LL) ? 


No, because  MoaP is such a privacy horrorshow that it eventually gets turned off by everybody anyway, either altogether or through destination-specific filters (in some TPVs, but maybe not effectively for MoaP).

Incidentally, for the "face the same way" maximum, you can have 8 sides (materials) in a Mesh, whatever shape you want them.  (I think I commented on that here recently, so I won't repeat my usual bitching about scripts and Prim Equivalence.)

Also, for the five opaque rectangular sides facing the same way: a prism is one solution, but a cube works just as well (and leaves two faces pointed backwards).  How to do that is left as a puzzle for the desperately bored.

<soapbox> More and more people are buying new, inexpensive PCs (and Macs*) which have built in Intel HD 3000 graphics, or similar. My experience is that most of these will not reliably run Viewer 2-3, or Firestorm 2-3. So, mesh is likely to be LESS useful in the future than it is now, at least until Intel HD 4000 or whatever comes along... Just a thought. (note: you must include amazing resale value of Macs in their list price, imho) </soapbox>

RE: cube - you mean a Cube-cube, where all sides are the same? Then no, there is no way to present this to a camera so that only two sides are not visible.

 

 

 

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Viewer 3 doesn't work for anyone does it?  All sorts of buggy horror stories.  What's that got to do with Mesh and integrated graphics though?  Mesh does not require more graphics power, mesh is exactly the way prims are communicated to your PC now.  Being able to import your own meshes is the new feature, that's all. (Yes, I know that isn't quite technically accurate but it's a good enough simplification)

Your main point, that people are buying ever worse machines is true though.  At some point even the most stupid of them has to realise that something made of foam and an elastic band isn't concorde.  Until then the brainless electronics-as-fashio-accessory will favour those of use who remember having to program 'computers' dumber than your watch from a generation ago.

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I was desesperately bored... :P

// 4-face cube//key TEX = "398acae7-eb03-04b6-0a9f-0f65480bc9a1";float CellWidth = 1.0; // Relatively to CellHeight: (< 1) == narrow, (> 1) == widedefault{    state_entry()    {        vector scale = llGetScale();        //        // Faces: 4, 7, 6, 1        //        llSetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast(LINK_THIS,                [                    PRIM_SIZE, <0.01, scale.z * CellWidth * SQRT2 * 2.0, scale.z>,                     PRIM_TYPE, PRIM_TYPE_BOX, 0, <0.125, 0.875, 0.0>, 0.00, <-0.25, -0.25, 0.0>,                     <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR,                    PRIM_COLOR, ALL_SIDES, ZERO_VECTOR, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 4, <1.0, 0.0, 0.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 7, <0.0, 1.0, 0.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 6, <0.0, 0.0, 1.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 1, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, ALL_SIDES, TEXTURE_BLANK, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 4, TEX, <2.0, 1.0, 0.0>, <0.5, 0.0, 0.0>, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 7, TEX, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 6, TEX, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 1, TEX, <2.0, 1.0, 0.0>, <0.5, 0.0, 0.0>, 0.0                ]);            }}

Even bored to death...

// 5-face cube//key TEX = "398acae7-eb03-04b6-0a9f-0f65480bc9a1";float CellWidth = 1.0; // Relatively to CellHeight: (< 1) == narrow, (> 1) == widedefault{    state_entry()    {        vector scale = llGetScale();        //        // Faces: 4, 8, 5, 7, 1        //        llSetLinkPrimitiveParamsFast(LINK_THIS,                [                    PRIM_SIZE, <0.01, scale.z * CellWidth * SQRT2 * 2.5, scale.z>,                     PRIM_TYPE, PRIM_TYPE_BOX, 0, <0.15, 0.85, 0.0>, 0.3333, <-0.25, -0.25, 0.0>,                     <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR,                    PRIM_COLOR, ALL_SIDES, ZERO_VECTOR, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 4, <1.0, 0.0, 0.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 8, <0.0, 1.0, 0.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 5, <0.0, 0.0, 1.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 7, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_COLOR, 1, <1.0, 0.0, 1.0>, 1.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, ALL_SIDES, TEXTURE_BLANK, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 4, TEX, <2.5, 1.0, 0.0>, <-0.25, 0.0, 0.0>, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 8, TEX, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 5, TEX, <-10.0, 1.0, 0.0>, <-0.3333, 0.0, 0.0>, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 7, TEX, <1.0, 1.0, 0.0>, ZERO_VECTOR, 0.0,                    PRIM_TEXTURE, 1, TEX, <2.5, 1.0, 0.0>, <0.25, 0.0, 0.0>, 0.0                ]);            }}

 All that's left is to calculate the offset and repeat for each face.

 

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I believe the calculations for the rest is on the wiki.... although I found them to be slightly off.

there is some warping of the middle element when using different hole shapes on the 5 sides facing forward version, and all of them are slightly less than perfectly forward even when flattened (a few degrees at worst though)

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PeterCanessa Oh wrote:

Viewer 3 doesn't work for
anyone
does it?  All sorts of buggy horror stories.  What's that got to do with Mesh and integrated graphics though?  Mesh does not require more graphics power, mesh is exactly the way prims are communicated to your PC now.  Being able to import your own meshes is the new feature, that's all. (Yes, I know that isn't quite technically accurate but it's a good enough simplification)

Your main point, that people are buying ever worse machines is true though.  At some point even the most stupid of them has to realise that something made of foam and an elastic band isn't concorde.  Until then the brainless electronics-as-fashio-accessory will favour those of use who remember having to program 'computers' dumber than your watch from a generation ago.

Yes, "meshes do not require more power", true. However, regarding the phasing out of V1's....

A) People don't know what they have bought, you know that. Just ask. Half don't even know what memory they have. They buy what the salesman or a friend tells them is good, and those people might know nothing about SL or online Gaming needs. About half of people I meet in SL do not do online gaming, just SL and "normal non-3D" stuff.

B) I had an 8 yr old Mac, with a 9 yr old video card. I got a new MacMini a few weeks ago (1/20th the size of the old Mac and more than twice as fast), and Phoenix runs like a bat out hell - truly amazing. Before, I got speeds of 3-15 fps, usually around 10. Now I get speeds from 15-70 fps, usually around 30 fps. And rezzing is 20x faster or more. So I am pretty happy.

FS2 and FS3 though are dogs on this machine *in many, but not all sims*; probably due to non-optimized code in FS *and* more features (and maybe drivers; see nVidia. Luckily I have AMD 6630M which runs flawlessly in Phoenix) I find that FS3 runs about half the fps of phoenix, even when HTTP and VBO and all the buttons are set right. And rezzing is about 1/4 the speed of Phoenix. Some sims do not work right at all, and some work pretty well. I will try FS again in a month or two.

C) Most people in SL today do not have the money to get an FS2-3 spec PC in the crappo economy these days. Most of the people I know in SL are out of work, or only have crappo part time jobs. Why do you think they are on SL so much? (I work from home, so can leave it running in the background, etc. Even then, work is very very slow these days, so food and rent come first etc etc)

If we limit SL to those who fit your criteria, then we lose another 75% of current residents, and most of future ones.

We have to be realistic, and dropping V1's is guaranteed to kill traffic like never before. Let's wait and see how the wizards at FS do with upcoming versions. They are *keenly* aware of the limits of the new machines, and they *DO* care about us.

:matte-motes-big-grin:

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Nice post.

I know what you mean, but at the same time all those people are rushing out to buy 'pretty' electronics in order to look cool, so this isn't a question of money.

"My criteria" isn't necessarily those that know what they've bought - we absolutely agree there!  I'm just excluding people who spend extra to buy something coll, small, low-power and lightweight ... and then wonder why it isn't concorde.  Anyone who's a current resident has "made it", I think, lol.  My machine is 4 years old and I've got no idea when I'll be able to update it or even any of its parts.  I didn't see any drop in performance when V2 was released (with my low-end nVidia card) but the latest V3s are just not working for me or a lot of other people.

I can, just, run with shadow enabled but the performance is so low (c10fps) that I don't.  As long as options are de-selected like that, is the minimum requirement for SL really increasing?  I'm not sure it is, I think this is just about bugs.

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PeterCanessa Oh wrote: I know what you mean, but at the same time all those people are rushing out to buy 'pretty' electronics in order to look cool, so this isn't a question of money. ... As long as options are de-selected like that, is the minimum requirement for SL really increasing?  I'm not sure it is, I think this is just about bugs.

Thanks, but I disagree 100%. I talk to people all the time who are delighted that their new machine runs Phoenix so much better than their old machines. They did not buy a shiny new PC to look cool - none of them did. They just had old machines that did not work well, and had no money. Surprise. <rant>I could get all political here about the wealth of the top 1% of Americans doubling in 20 years, "but I won't".</rant> :matte-motes-tongue:

For me, it was painful to find the budget to get almost the smallest of Apple's machines. Plus I had to move from G5 (IBM) to MacMini (Intel) which means also 100% of my software needed to be replaced. I was careful and bought the MacMini with the AMD 6630M, and not just the Intel HD3000 built in graphics. The AMD has approx twice the power of the HD3000, but still has a small Graphics memory, only 384MB if I remember correctly.

If you want to set up a fund for people who cannot afford better machines, I will donate $20 :matte-motes-big-grin:

 

I have spent time talking to Phoenix/Firestorm engineers, and they have repeatedly told me FS2 and FS3 both place "significantly more demand on the graphics" than Phoenix.

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Okay you win - I haven't talked to them, because I just consider the theoretical impact unless I'm doing it myself.  "In theory, theory and practice are the same.  In practice they are not".  All I have left to say then is there is no technical reason why they should. :-)

Actually, I thought you were complaining about the new features in SL rather than the viewers themselves, which is why I said mesh doesn't cause extra graphics load.  Given the paragraph above I obviously can't argue about viewers, although I will say I'm one of those that like V2.

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  • 5 months later...

Actual answer is 9 (Courtesy of Builder's Brewery):

Box:

Path Cut: B: 0.199 E: 0.800

Hollow: 50.0     Skew: 0.00

Hollow Shape: Triangle

Twist: B: 0 E: 0

Taper: X: 0.00 Y:0.00

Top Shear: X: 0.00 Y: 0.00

Slice: B: 0.00 E: 1.00

Radius: 0.000  Revolutions: 1.00

 

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  • 1 year later...

Check this out http://ayumicassini.blogspot.com.au/2009/07/ultimate-guide-to-prim-twisting.html go to the 5 faced board. I was looking for this blog post when i came across this discussion.  When i found the blog i though people might be intrested in it here.  Ah the olden days where everything was made of wooden boxes.  I think we may have lost some creativity since then. But we do now have a lot more prims avalible.

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Prism it is 5, That will give you 5 charcters on each face in front of you. A good example would be the RavText script.

1. Rez a Prism (I used X=0.01,Y=2.5,Z=1.5. Obviously adjust to taste.)

2. Path cut: Begin 0.2, End 0.8.

3. Hollow 65, default shape.

4. Twist, Taper, Top Shear are all default 0.

5. Slice Begin and end are default 0, and 1.

http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/RavText

ADDED: This is for the second part of your question.

ADDED: I just realized i'm answering a dead post. LOL

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